Exemplary embodiments disclosed herein pertain to electronic cards. More particularly, exemplary embodiments disclosed herein pertain to secure electronic cards and methods for making same.
There are a great many applications for electronic security. For example, security is desirable or required for financial transactions, or for providing access to various physical and non-physical resources. One area of great concern for electronic security is in the field of financial transaction cards, e.g. credit and debit cards.
Conventional credit cards, debit cards and other financial transaction cards (hereafter “transaction cards”) have a typically plastic body upon which is embossed a 16 digit account number and other data. A magnetic strip, usually referred to as a “stripe”, is adhered to the back of the card. The stripe typically magnetically encodes the account number and/or other data.
A stripe is typically a magnetic tape material much like the magnetic tape used in digital data recording. The stripe material typically includes a magnetic oxide and binder compounds that provide the magnetic stripe with data encoding capabilities and physical durability characteristics needed for transaction card applications. While these magnetic tape components have been optimized for transaction card applications the magnetic tape used for the magnetic stripe on a transaction card is very similar to standard digital data recording tape.
The two most common magnetic oxides used in magnetic stripe cards are referred to as low coercivity (LoCo) and high coercivity (HiCo) magnetic oxides. Coercivity measures how difficult it is to magnetize or demagnetize the stripe and is measured in oersteds. Low coercivity magnetic stripes are typically 300 oersteds and high coercivity magnetic stripes are above 2700 oersteds. A high coercivity magnetic stripe requires about three times more energy to encode or erase than does a low coercivity magnetic stripe. Many transaction card applications have gone to HiCo magnetic stripes because it is much harder to accidentally erase the encoded data than on LoCo magnetic stripes. This provides greater durability and readability of the encoded data in use for many applications.
The encoding of the magnetic stripe on a transaction card typically follows standard digital recording techniques but is again optimized for transaction card applications. The encoded data takes the form of zones of magnetization in the magnetic stripe with alternate magnetic polarities. The north and south poles' of the magnetized zones alternate in direction providing an encoding technique that can represent the binary “zeroes” and “ones” of a binary digital code.
The standard encoding technique for the magnetic stripe on a transaction card is the F2F (Aiken double frequency) code where a binary zero is represented by a long magnetized zone and a binary one is represented by two magnetized zones, each one half the length of the zero—a long magnetized zone. The exact length of these zones of magnetization is determined by how much data needs to be recorded on the magnetic stripe. For example Track. 2 data is encoded at 75 bits per inch or 75 long zero zones per inch—International Standards Organization (ISO) specifications 7811-2/6. That equates to 0.01333 inches in length for the zero magnetized zone. The binary one would then be two zones of one half that length or 0.00666 inches in length. Other lengths can be obtained for different data densities such as the 210 bits per inch used in Track 1 and Track 2 of the magnetic stripe.
Reading the encoded data in the magnetic stripe is accomplished by capturing the magnetic flux field extending from the magnetized zones in the stripe by a magnetic read head. The read head converts the changing magnetic flux in the coil of the read head to a voltage pattern mirroring the magnetization zones of the encoded data. The voltage pattern can then be translated by the decoding electronics into the binary zeroes and ones of the data as is well known in the industry.
A magnetic stripe encoder consists of a magnetic write head and an electronic current drive circuit capable of magnetizing the magnetic oxide in the stripe to full magnetization (saturation). The encoding current in the write head is capable of alternating direction thereby producing alternating zones of magnetization direction in the stripe that will form the data encoding of the magnetic stripe. Transaction cards typically have their stripes encoded with account and/or other information in commercial magnetic stripe encoders prior to delivery to the consumer.
The process of magnetic tape application to transaction cards, the encoding of the magnetic stripe and the reading of the encoded data in the magnetic stripe at point of use has been a reliable and cost effective method for portable personal data storage for financial, ID and other transaction card based applications. However, the relative ease of reading and encoding or re-encoding of the magnetic stripe data has made the magnetic stripe transaction card subject to counterfeiting, copying the data to one or more cards (often referred to as “skimming”) and other fraud abuses. Skimming fraud alone is growing around the world and has reached financial dollar losses that call for immediate solutions.
There are many security problems with conventional transaction cards. For one, the stripe is static and is not encrypted, allowing transaction card thieves to “steal”, in the virtual sense, the data from the stripe and use it for unauthorized transactions. This is because with conventional magnetic stripe cards the transaction data is “exposed”, i.e. not encrypted. If “picked off”, the data can be used indistinguishably in a counterfeit transaction card. As such, a counterfeit transaction card can be freely used by a thief until it is cancelled.
The skimming and counterfeiting problem has been partially addressed by MagTek Incorporated with its MagnePrint technology. MagnePrint® is a card security technology that can detect “skimmed” or magnetically altered counterfeit cards. Just as fingerprints can uniquely identify human beings, MagnePrint® can uniquely identify magstripe cards. MagnePrint® technology was discovered at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., USA. MagTek refined the technology, to bring it to practical use, and has an exclusive license to market this technology. However, MagnePrint technology requires modified card readers for its implementation, which would render obsolete millions of legacy card readers.
In addition to a lack of security, conventional transaction cards are also quite limited in storage capacity. That is, conventional cards are limited to their stripe for storage. As such, conventional cards are not electronic cards, e.g. cards with embedded electronics such as an on-board processor and/or digital memory, and are very limited in their functionality.
An example of an electronic card is the so-called “Smart Card”, which includes both an on-board processor and digital memory. By providing an on-board electronics, a Smart Card can implement security protocols such as encryption, store large amounts of user information, etc.
A common standard for Smart Cards is referred to as the ISO 7816 standard. With this protocol, a Smart Card is provided with an electrical interface including a number of electrically conductive and externally accessible contact pads which are coupled to an embedded secure processor. The Smart Card is inserted into a Smart Card reader which makes electrical contact with the contact pads to provide power to and communications with the secure processor. Smart Cards, however, are not provided with embedded power, e.g. a battery. Smart cards can also include a conventional stripe which, in the prior art, does not in any way interact with the secure processor.
Smart cards using memory chips and microprocessor chips were first introduced to provide increased data storage and to guard against some of the types of fraud found in magnetic stripe transaction cards. The Smart Cards do reduce some types of fraud but the cards are much more expensive than a magnetic stripe transaction card and the magnetic stripe readers at the point-of-transaction had to be replaced with readers that could read the data storage chip and the magnetic stripe. These cost factors and inertia in changing the existing infrastructure built up around the magnetic stripe transaction card systems and applications (e.g. “legacy” card readers) have prevented the rapid and more general acceptance of Smart Cards in the United States.
Another factor in the slow acceptance of Smart Cards in the United States, has been the lack of visible benefits to the end user or consumer. The consumer is just as content to use the magnetic stripe as to use the chip to complete a transaction.
While broadly adopted abroad, Smart Cards have not been extensively adopted in the U.S., as noted above. As noted above, a major reason for this is the investment made by millions of merchants in legacy card readers, which cannot communicate with the secure processors of Smart Cards. Also, Smart Cards conforming to the ISO 7816 standard suffer from their own limitations, including severely restricted I/O, an inability to provide “smart” transactions with legacy card readers, etc.
Another limitation of smart cards in general is that they lack the ability to interact with a user when they are not in contact with a smart card reader. This limitation is due to the fact that the smart card of the prior art does not have an on-board power supply. Thus the electronic components lie dormant and do not allow for interaction. This limitation prevents a myriad of features, such as account selection, or a security feature to lock the card, etc.
Another suggested approach, not yet in use, uses a general processor and a stripe emulator which work with legacy card readers. As used here, the term “stripe emulator” will refer to a transaction card where data transmitted to a legacy card reader is under the control of the general processor. This approach will be referred to herein as an “emulator card”, which is one form of an electronic card.
Emulator cards potentially have a number of distinct advantages over conventional credit cards. For one, a single card can emulate a number of different transaction cards, greatly reducing the bulk in one's wallet. For example, an emulator card can emulate a Visa card, a MasterCard, and an ATM card. Also, since the emulator card includes a processor, it is possible to implement additional functionality, such as security functions.
However, emulator cards, too, have their limitations. For one, since general processors are used the security level of the card is reduced. For example, a hacker could potentially obtain data stored in unsecured electronic memory. Also, emulator cards do not-address Smart Card protocols, as they are designed to work with legacy card readers. For example, as with conventional credit cards, data flows from the emulator card to the legacy card reader, and not vice versa. Still further, the information that can be provided by the emulator card is limited to the amount of information that a conventional stripe can hold and that a legacy card reader can read.
The need for fraud reduction with a versatile and inexpensively manufactured electronic card is urgent. In the U.S., fraud is tending to cover from 7.5 to 12 basis points in credit card transactions, and skimming alone is estimated to cost $8 billion dollars in 2005. Internationally, the need is even more dire, with fraud tending from 25 to 40 basis points, with 60 percent of that being due to skimming. Nevertheless, merchants in the United States and elsewhere are reluctant to invest the resources necessary to change all of their current magnetic-card transaction equipment for various reasons, including cost, inconvenience, disruption and lack of reliability.
There are other uses for electronic cards other than for financial transactions. For example, electronic cards have been used for security purposes to allow, for example, personnel to high security areas of a building (“access control”). Electronic cards can therefore be used for a variety of purposes where the identity and/or status of the bearer needs to be verified by a physical card or “token.”
Electronic cards, as noted above, tend to be relatively expensive compared to conventional, non-electronic, magnetic stripe cards. This is due, in part, to the cost of the electronic components and is due, in part, to the complexity of manufacture of electronic cards. For example, care must be taken during lamination of electronic cards that the heat and/or pressure do not damage the sensitive electronic components. Also, electronic cards should remain thin, flexible and preferably of the same dimensions as conventional cards. As another example, stripe emulators tend to be difficult to design and manufacture such that they work with legacy readers.
Furthermore, powering the electronic circuitry of electronic cards tends to be problematical. For example, Smart Cards are powered by their readers, limiting their usefulness in non-contact applications. A good solution for powering ubiquitous electronic cards has not been found in the prior art.
These and other limitations of the prior art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the following descriptions and a study of the several figures of the drawing.
A number of non-limiting examples of electronic cards which address aforementioned problems and limitations of prior transaction cards and electronic cards are presented. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the methods and apparatus as disclosed herein are applicable to a wide variety of problems which require or could be improved with improved electronic cards.
In an embodiment, set forth by way of example rather than limitation, an electronic card includes a thin, flat digital processor, a thin, flat electrochemical battery, a communications port, a first flexible cover, and a second flexible cover. The digital processor preferably has a first substantially planar surface and a substantially opposing second substantially planar surface, wherein at least one of the first surface, the second surface, and a cross-section of the processor define a maximum surface area. The battery preferably has a first substantially planar surface and a substantially opposing second substantially planar surface, wherein at least one of the first surface, the second surface, and a cross-section of the processor define a maximum surface area, the battery being positioned substantially co-planar with the processor and capable of powering the processor. The communications port is coupled to the processor. Each of the first flexible cover and the opposing second flexible cover have a surface area greater than the combined maximum surface areas of the digital processor and the battery. The processor and the battery are sandwiched between and enclosed by the first flexible cover and the second flexible cover.
In an exemplary embodiment, the electronic card includes a flexible circuit board. In another exemplary embodiment at least one of the first cover and the second cover are contoured to fit over the circuit board, processor and battery. In another exemplary embodiment, one or more switches are coupled to the circuit board. In another exemplary embodiment, one or more indicators are coupled to the circuit board. In another exemplary embodiment, the processor is coupled to the circuit board in a flip-chip fashion. In another exemplary embodiment, the processor is coupled to the circuit board with bonded wire. In another exemplary embodiment, the bonded wire has a low loop height. In another exemplary embodiment, the processor is encapsulated against the printed circuit board. In another exemplary embodiment, the battery includes two or more batteries. In another exemplary embodiment, the battery is not rechargeable. In another exemplary embodiment, the battery is rechargeable. In another exemplary embodiment, the battery includes a rechargeable battery and a non-rechargeable battery. In another exemplary embodiment, the battery is part of a power supply including a power filter.
In an embodiment, set forth by way of example rather than limitation, a method for making an electronic card includes making a flexible printed circuit board, attaching at least one processor to the printed circuit board, coupling at least one battery to the printed circuit board, encapsulating at least the one processor, making a top cover and a bottom cover; and sandwiching the printed circuit board, the processor and the battery between the top cover and the bottom cover.
In an embodiment, set forth by way of example rather than limitation, an enhanced Smart Card includes a card body provided with an externally accessible card interface including a signal port, a power port, and a ground port, a secure processor disposed at least partially within the card body and coupled to the signal port, the power port, and the ground port, a general processor disposed at least partially within the card body, the general processor being coupled to a power source disposed at least partially within the card body and being operative to provide power to and communicate with the secure processor when the secure processor is being used in an enhanced Smart Card mode; and a non-contact communications port coupled to at least one of the secure processor and the general processor.
In an embodiment, set forth by way of example rather than limitation, a secure transaction card includes a card body, a secure processor disposed at least partially within the card body, a general processor disposed at least partially within the card body, a power source disposed at least partially within the card body; and a non-contact communications port coupled to at least one of the secure processor and the general processor.
In an embodiment, set forth by way of example rather than limitation, a swipe emulating broadcaster system includes a coil having an elongated core material and a winding having a plurality of turns around the core material; and a signal generator having a broadcaster driver signal coupled to the coil such that the coil provides a dynamic magnetic field which emulates the swiping of a magnetic stripe transaction card past a read head of a card reader.
In an exemplary embodiment, the signal generator includes a processor having a digital output and a signal processing circuit which converts the digital output to the broadcaster driver signal. In another exemplary embodiment, the signal generator is a digital signal generator. In another exemplary embodiment, the coil is one of a plurality of coils. In another exemplary embodiment, at least one of the plurality of coils is a track coil. In another exemplary embodiment, at least one of the plurality of coils is a cancellation coil. In another exemplary embodiment, the coil includes a wire wound around the core. In another exemplary embodiment, the coil includes a wire formed around the core by a process including at least the deposition of conductive material and the etching of the conductive material.
In an embodiment, set forth by way of example rather than limitation, a method for creating a low-loop bonding for thin profile applications includes attaching a first surface of a fabricated semiconductor die to a first surface of a substrate having a plurality of substrate contact pads, such that a second surface of the die which opposes the first surface is exposed to provide access to a plurality of die contact pads, wire bonding a first end of a wire to a substrate contact pad; and wire bonding a second end of the wire to a die contact pad, such that the loop height of the wire is no greater that 5 mils above the second surface of the die, and no greater than 20 mils above the first surface of the substrate.
These and other embodiments, aspects and advantages will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the following descriptions and a study of the various figures of the drawing.